What outside radio and information are available to the people of Syria?

As I publish this piece Wednesday evening it is increasingly likely there will be military attacks on Syria by the US, Britain and allies in response to evidence that the Syrian government carried out chemical weapons attacks on its own citizens.

It is certainly a tense situation, and for the people of Syria the situation must be getting only more frightening. Media inside the country is tightly controlled by the government which exclusively airs the Assad regime’s viewpoint, and so it must be difficult to know what the true threat is, and what to expect.

I have been trying assess what outside information resources are available to the people of Syria, particularly radio, since it is inexpensive to receive and more difficult to block.

Inside many war-torn countries outside news and information is available via shortwave radio. Global broadcasters like the BBC and Deutsche Welle can be important sources of information and international political debate. Often there are broadcasts from political opponents, as is the case with Zimbabwe. However, Radio Free Syria, the last known anti-Assad shortwave broadcaster, hasn’t been heard from since about 2004. As well, like in Europe and North America, it appears that shortwave is not particularly popular inside Syria.

Because there are methods for internet users in Syria to evade government filtering, determined listeners inside the country can find ways to tune in these independent broadcasts. But that still makes them less accessible than if they were on satellite or shortwave.

I would appreciate it if any readers with information about media and information availability inside Syria would email us to share.

Speaking for myself, I do not look forward to any military attacks on Syria. I have deep sympathy for the innocent Syrian people caught in their nation’s civil war, subject to brutal attacks from their own government, and now fearing attacks from western powers.

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About Paul Riismandel

Paul Riismandel is co-founder and operations director of Radio Survivor. He is also the podcasting evangelist for Midroll Media, serving as producer for The Wolf Den podcast. Paul has more than 20 years of experience in non-commercial radio and instructional media. He is a contributing editor for Streaming Media Magazine, covering the education beat.